When a layout editing of a page is finished, a page geometry file as well as one or several material files are created and stored in a storage media (e.g., a magneto-optical disc). The material files contain data of the material constituting the page such as letters, lines and pictures. The material files include one or more line work files (hereinafter referred to as LW files) containing vector data of letters, lines, etc., and one or more continuous tone files (hereinafter referred to as CT files) containing pixel data (or bit map data) of pictures, photographs, etc. A page geometry file (hereinafter referred to as a PG file) contains data of the layout of the elements in the page.
A conventional system for outputting the image of a page on a reproduction film (from which a printing plate is produced) from a storage media storing material files and a geometry file is described with reference to FIG. 7. The system of FIG. 7 includes a magneto-optical disc drive (MOD drive) 54, a layout station 55, a graphic station 53, an output station 56, a recorder 51, a data processing station 57, a disc controller 58 and a disk unit 59. The disk unit 59 may include several physically separate storage disks (e.g., hard disks) as shown in FIG. 7. When an operator receives a magneto-optical disc (MO disc or MOD) 52 storing LW files, CT files and a PG file, he or she sets the MO disc 52 in the MOD drive 54. The operator operates a terminal of the MOD drive 54 to read those files (LW files, CT files, and a PG file) stored in the MO disc 52 and stores the files in the disk unit 59 via the disk controller 58. When all the necessary files are read out, the MO disc 52 can be removed from the MOD drive 54.
Next the operator operates a terminal of the layout station 55 or of the output station 56 to transfer the LW files and the PG file in the disk unit 59 to the graphic station 53. Then the operator operates a terminal of the graphic station 53 to generate a JOB file, an MSK file and, when special LW data is contained in the PG file, a special LW file from the PG file. The special LW file generated from the PG file is hereinafter referred to as LW2 file to distinguish it from the LW files stored by themselves in the MO disc 52. The JOB file contains data describing the process of outputting the image of a page, and is referred to in the later-described output process using the output station 56. The MSK file contains data of a mask or masks which defines the output area of a picture or pictures in the page. These files (the JOB file, the MSK file, and the LW2 file) generated from the PG file are also stored in the disk unit 59 through the disk controller 58.
Then the operator operates a terminal of the data processing station 57 to command the disk controller 58 to connect the disk unit 59 (which now stores the PG file, the CT files, the LW files, the JOB file, the MSK file and the LW2 file) to the data processing station 57. After the disk unit 59 is connected first, the PG file is read out from the disk unit 59, and the LW files and the LW2 file are combined to create a final base page LW file according to the description in the PG file. Then the JOB file is read out from the disk unit 59 and a final base page LW file is created from the CT file and the MSK file according to the data in the JOB file. The final base page LW file and the final base page CT file are stored in the disk unit 59.
The operator then operates a terminal of the output station 56 to transfer the final base LW page file stored in the disk unit 59 to the graphic station 53, and to connect the disk unit 59 that stores the final base page CT file to the output station 56. The operator gives output conditions (e.g., screen line-frequency, screen angle, etc.) to the recorder 51 through the terminal of the output station 56, and designates the final base page LW file and the final base page CT file, whereby the data in the final base page LW file stored in the graphic station 53 and the data in the final base page CT file stored in the disk unit 59 are combined and outputted on a film at the recorder 51.
The above description shows that, even after the editing operation is finished and all the material data and the layout data are stored in an MO disc 52, the operator still has to operate many terminals and give various complicated commands to the terminals. When different operators operate those terminals, a scrupulous arrangement is necessary beforehand.